AUGUST 3 - 9, 2010
City officials retain legal ‘dream team’ for parking garage bonds lawsuit BY EDDIE DEL CARMEN
A
s the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to investigate questionable parking garage bonds that were approved by the City of South Miami, local government officials are planning for the possibility of a long and costly legal battle. Despite having hired lawyers from Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. to represent their interests, the council opened the July 27th commission meeting by inviting former U.S. prosecuting attorney, Guy Lewis, to promote his own law firm as an alternative solution. Lewis, a partner of Lewis Tein, PL expressed his desire to see the case resolved favorably and offered his firm’s resources at minimal cost. The rate quoted for services of Lewis Tein, PL was $275 per hour, less than half the customary rate of $750 per hour. This sparked intense debate amongst commission members who have been presented with a cost estimate from Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. of approximately $300,000 over a period of 10 months. Tensions inside of City Hall quickly rose as Commissioner Velma Palmer launched into an irate tirade against Lewis’ proposition. Palmer aggressively questioned the commission’s decision to bring in Lewis, citing his appearance as a poorly timed maneuver. Palmer’s emotions reached a boiling point when she threatened to leave the room in response to having been warned of a sanction for improper behavior. The conflict was eventually resolved and vice mayor Newman offered an apology to Lewis for Palmer’s outburst. The dispute
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PARKING GARAGE, page 5
Victor Dover, the improbable Ironman
Around Town The circus continues at City Hall BY MICHAEL MILLER <Michael@communitynewspapers.com>
The Tri-Loco Miami team pauses to read the South Miami News while sizing up the Ironman finish line in Lake Placid, NY. L-R: Gerardo Aycinena, Brittany Doerpfeld, Mario Arbesu, Victor Dover, Joanne Linley, Tim Lewis, Olga Martinez and Diana Bruno. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
BY NANCY EAGLETON
“V
ictor Dover, YOU are an IRONMAN!,” said the announcer in his booming and commanding voice as Dover, a South Miami resident and principal of Dover, Kohl & Partners, Town Planning, crossed the finish line to complete a 140.6 mile journey in the recent Ironman USA competition held in Lake Placid, New York. “The announcer yells this with great conviction and enthusiasm for every person who crosses the finish line,” said Dover. “It’s music to your ears and a great reward. The crowd is cheering and clanging cowbells just like in the Tour de France and they cheer even louder for the
last competitors who limp or hobble across the line.” This is Dover’s second Ironman competition and he calls himself the “improbable ironman. “I don’t go fast or finish first, but I do go far,” he said. His goal for the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run was to finish in less than 17 hours. Despite an ankle injury that forced him to fast-walk the uphill and flat portions and jog the downhill sections, he finished the grueling Lake Placid course in 14 hours, 53 minutes, “I shaved eight-plus minutes off my previous time on the 2.4-mile swim. That’s a lot. I passed 1,586 other swimmers on the first leg of the race,” said Dover.
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IRONMAN, page 7
The feuding b e t w e e n those elected officials brings tears to my eyes because I’ve been laughing so hard for months as I watch the circus at city hall. Now, I’m chuckling a bit more because of the most recent “have you heard this one yet?” Just to set the record straight, this is totally unconfirmed. So, here goes… I hear that Mayor Phil Stoddard was not going to attend a recent commission meeting because of jet-lag. However as the rumor goes, Vice Mayor Valerie Newman was telling folks something along the lines that since Mayor Stoddard was out of town and not attending the meeting that she was going to run the meeting the way that it should be and not the way the “Putz” has been doing it. Ouch! I’m not sure exactly what that means, but rest assured, it doesn’t sound nice. If I was “Putz,” I’d just tell her… “That’s Mr. Putz to you, sweetie pie!” As it turned out, the mayor did attend the meeting and ran it well, while Ms. Vice Mayor pouted away in her corner, occasionally spouting out some spontaneous utterances.
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AROUND TOWN, page 3